counselling as an intervention strategy for men who...
TRANSCRIPT
Counselling as an intervention strategy for men who use vio-
lence in their intimate relation-shipsElzette Rousseau-Jemwa, Lynn Hendricks & Kerryn Rehse
ABSTRACT: International research increasingly highlights that if a significant re-
duction in intimate partner violence (IPV) is to be achieved, it will be important
to establish interventions that include both men and women, and are aimed at
addressing the social norms that maintain such violence. In South Africa 1 in 4
men report to use some form of violence in their intimate relationships. In some
instances in South Africa it has been found that men do not view their behaviour
as constituting violence since these harmful practices are ingrained in the culture
as normal, culturally appropriate, and normative intimate relationship behaviour.
In the current formative evaluation, an exploration into counselling services as
an intervention strategy for men who use violence was done in Mitchell’s Plain,
South Africa. This study included in-depth interviews with men (N=6) who used
violence in their intimate relationships, and focus-groups with their counsellors
(N=4). Men reported violence as a personal crisis aggravated by social environ-
ments. Furthermore, counsellors perceived help seeking of men to be based on
individual choice. The conceptualisation of IPV, experiences of reciprocal abuse in
relationships, help-seeking behaviour and masculinity, access to intervention ser-
vices for men, and ultimately the preliminary outcomes of counselling on men’s
violent behaviour were explored.
KEYWORDS: intimate partner violence; counselling; help-seeking behaviour;
masculinity; relationship abuse; qualitative research
Graduate Journal of Social Science November 2016, Vol. 12, Issue 3, pp. 128–146This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. ISSN: 1572–3763
129Rousseau-Jemwa, Hendricks & Rehse: Counselling as an intervention strategy
Global statistics continuously show that the most prevalent form of violence per-
petrated against people, regardless of country, culture, religion, ethnicity, and so-
cio-economic status, is the violence perpetrated in intimate relationships (Chibber
and Krishnan, 2011). This violence which occurs, by definition, between dating, co-
habiting and married couples, is most commonly described as the repeated threat
or practice of physical violence; psychological abuse through intimidation, humili-
ation, and controlling behaviour; and coerced or forced sexual violence (Alhabib,
Nur, & Jones, 2010). The lifetime prevalence of intimate partner violence (IPV) has
been reported to vary from 15% to 71% according to a WHO multi-country study
(Garcia-Moreno, Heise, Jansen et al., 2005), recognising it as a legitimate human
rights, public health and societal concern, necessitating effective interventions
(Joachim, 2000).
Although legal frameworks and societal definitions around issues of gender-
based violence, more specifically IPV, differ in relation to country and culture, the
leading theories and descriptions view the victim and the perpetrator as clearly
distinct individuals. As a result, interventions for individuals in IPV situations are
predominantly focused on shelters, medical and counselling services for wom-
en as the victims; and protection orders or court-ordered brief treatment pro-
grammes for men as the perpetrators (Tilley and Brackley, 2005; Jewkes, 2002).
In the same way, research from South Africa (SA) predominantly suggests that IPV
is perpetrated by men against women. In SA this form of violence is often justi-
fied by the amount of literature indicating that masculinity and violence has been
yoked together in the history and cultural norms of the country (Abrahams and
Jewkes, 2005; Morrell 2001). Researchers studying this relationship between mas-
culinity and IPV suggest that violence is often a manner in which a man responds
when his perceived gender role is challenged or threatened in society (Moore and
Stuart, 2005). These gendered risk factors for IPV perpetration include a strong
patriarchal belief with regard to gender roles, power and control; objectification
of women; and a feeling of entitlement to respect and sex (Weldon and Gilchrist,
2012; Moore, Stuart, McNulty, et al., 2010; Smith, 2007; Jewkes, 2002). However,
men’s use of IPV has also been closely related to their use of violence against other
men as an essential behavioural means to resolve conflict (Fulu, Jewkes, Roselli, &
Garcia-Moreno, 2013; Katz, 2006; Morrell, 2001). Hamel (2007) suggests that while
patriarchal beliefs contribute to IPV incidences, more intrinsic facilitative factors
are the harbouring of pro-violent attitudes. These attitudes are supported by IPV
GJSS Vol. 12, Issue 3130risk factors, as depicted in research, including ineffective anger management skills;
desensitisation to violence; childhood exposure to IPV; parental neglect and isola-
tion; financial insecurity and/or unemployment; abuse of alcohol or drugs; failed
previous relationships; actual or perceived infidelity and mistrust; retaliation; emo-
tional dysregulation and meeting the criterion for a DSM Axis II personality disorder
(Weldon et al., 2012; Ross, 2011; Wei and Brackley, 2010; Smith, 2007; Medeiros and
Strauss, 2006; Tilley et al., 2005; Lipsky, Caetano, Field, et al., 2005).
These findings propose that IPV is a multifaceted phenomenon driven by indi-
vidual, situational and relational factors in both men and women which need to be
considered by policy-makers, researchers, and health professionals when develop-
ing interventions for victims and perpetrators (Hamel, 2009). In a recent assessment
of national policies and laws in 11 African countries, on the level that men are en-
gaged in gender-based violence (GBV) prevention, South Africa ranked fourth (Sonke
Gender Justice Network, 2012). This assessment indicated that some initiatives on
the engagement of men regarding GBV were adequate, whereas other areas still had
room for improvement, including: the conceptualisation of IPV, insufficient focus on
preventative measures, commitment to transform gender norms, and inadequate
acknowledgement of the violence men experience and its likelihood to increase the
risk of men perpetrating violence (Sonke Gender Justice Network, 2012).
With 27.5% of South African men reporting the use of physical violence in their
most recent intimate relationship (Gupta, Silverman, Hemenway, et al., 2008) it is
necessary that programmes for men who use violence become ever more acces-
sible and effective in promoting the wellbeing of both men and women. This para-
digm shift in the intervention and prevention of violence against women has been
strongly supported by Jewkes, Flood and Lang (2015) in their review of multiple
interventions’ effectiveness in reducing violence and its risk factors. Approaches
were considered most effective when a focus on strengthening women’s resilience
was combined with men’s active involvement in programmes for sustained gender
transformation. An increased focus needs to be placed on understanding the ex-
periences and motivations of violent men, in order to tailor interventions toward
addressing men’s attitudes, behaviours, identities and associations of violence in
their relationships (Moore et al., 2005; Flood, 2011). Against this backdrop, a forma-
tive evaluation was conducted of counselling as an intervention strategy for men
from a low income community in South Africa who use violence in their intimate
relationships.
131Rousseau-Jemwa, Hendricks & Rehse: Counselling as an intervention strategy
Methodology
Formative evaluations are generally employed during a project’s implementation
and focus on ways of improving the effectiveness of a programme. This is done
through the exploration of processes from the viewpoints of both participants and
project staff and/or stakeholders. In the current study, qualitative data were col-
lected from the target population (male clients) and their counsellors to better
understand their profiles, needs, help-seeking related experiences, and perceived
benefits of the programme.
The counselling programme included in this study was the Toolkit for Men:
male counselling in the context of intimate partner violence implemented by Mo-
saic Training, Service & Healing Centre for Women. Mosaic is a non-profit women’s
rights organisation offering psycho-social, educational and awareness services to
persons affected by and at-risk of domestic and sexual violence. Included in the
holistic approach is the inclusion of services that engage men and boys on the
issues of gender-based violence, and a specific counselling programme keeping
men who use IPV accountable and working towards ending the violence in the
relationship by engaging with both the client and his partner. Gender transforma-
tive approaches are employed and sessions address the social tolerance of vio-
lence, norms around masculinity in the South African context, and the justifica-
tion for using violence. The Toolkit for Men has been designed to be implemented
by social service professionals and consist of a 12-session male counselling pro-
gramme aimed at men who use violence within their intimate relationships. The
programme works together with men, their partners and where necessary, their
families. The underlying assumption in developing the Toolkit for Men was based
on the principle that violence against women is never acceptable and must stop;
that men are ‘gendered’ persons, and men have the potential to change. A further
important component to counselling is the regulation of non-violent behaviour
during the three month period of counselling. This often serves as a reflection of
how the client is responding to counselling and the progress that is made.
The research project was initiated after receiving approval from the relevant
partner institution’s review boards. Study participants (N=10) were recruited using
convenience and snowball sampling in the community of Mitchell’s Plain in Cape
Town, South Africa, through current programmes focused on counselling men
who use violence. Four men who self-reported as having used violence in their in-
GJSS Vol. 12, Issue 3132timate relationship and currently participating in the counselling programme, and
six counsellors of the Toolkit for Men, volunteered as participants in the research
study. Male clients were eligible to participate if (1) they were currently in coun-
selling for IPV perpetration; (2) were at least 18 years old and provided informed
consent; and (3) did not have serious addictions to alcohol or other substances
which could limit effective participation and reliable outcomes. All the clients were
in counselling for using violence in their intimate relationships and most entered
counselling voluntarily (even though some did so as the prerequisite for a protec-
tion order suspension).
Data were collected by student research assistants through in-depth semi-
structured interviews and focus groups. The individual interviews with men who
were perpetrators of violence were conducted by a trained researcher and lasted
between 45 and 90 minutes. The researcher probed for information on men’s mo-
tivation for entering into counselling; their perceptions of the violent behaviour
in their relationships; the perceived effect of counselling on men and their rela-
tionships; and recommendations on what can be done to improve counselling
services for men who use IPV. The counsellors (one male; five female) were split
into two focus group discussions (N=3 per group). All of the counsellors had more
than 3 years of experience in counselling men who engaged in IPV. The research-
ers sought to understand counsellors’ perceptions and experiences of counselling
men; the challenges and benefits of counselling men; and the perceived influence
of culture and gender roles within the South African context. The discussions also
allowed for both male clients and counsellors to share their thoughts on how to
engage other men who use violence in their relationships. Men in the study were
open and willing to share the intimate details of their experiences.
Focus groups and interviews were tape recorded and transcribed verbatim
by the research assistants. The recordings were destroyed after transcription and
pseudonyms were used for participants during data analysis such that responses
could not be traced back to individual participants. The data were analysed using
thematic analysis (Braun and Clarke, 2006) by means of Atlas.ti to highlight and
extract any obvious emerging patterns. Data analysis were initiated through open
coding, examining the data sentence by sentence, to identify distinct concepts.
Subsequently, discrete concepts related to similar phenomena were grouped to-
gether and along with discourses highlighted in the transcript, themes were built.
In an attempt to establish credibility (Shenton, 2004) of the thematic analysis and
133Rousseau-Jemwa, Hendricks & Rehse: Counselling as an intervention strategy
interpretations, all members of the research team reviewed the transcripts and cri-
tiqued emerging codes and themes. Finally, the themes and findings were brought
back to the partner community to confirm the accuracy, relevance and meaning
of the findings. Prominent themes which emerged included: varied attribution of
responsibility in IPV; violence as a personal crisis aggravated by social environ-
ment; factors that bring men to counselling; cultural and societal challenges to
men’s help-seeking behaviour; counsellor characteristics enabling successful
male counselling; and the perceived benefits of counselling.
Findings
In exploring counselling as an intervention for men who experience IPV, counsel-
lors reflected on some practical obstacles to successful outcomes when men re-
fuse to cooperate with counselling practices such as, not keeping appointments,
attending sessions while under the influence of substances, or when crossing re-
spectful boundaries. In most of these cases the appropriate referral is made to as-
sist the client to be able to address other self-harm behaviours thus allowing them
to fully participate in the counselling programme. A complexity in counselling men
who use violence is the prevalence of manipulation in these clients’ interactions,
and how counsellors often spend a lot of time “on getting to the truth” with regard
to the challenges and triggers in a relationship. It is within this context that the cur-
rent study explored participants’ conceptualisation of IPV along with narratives on
cultural and societal challenges to men’s help-seeking behaviour in violent rela-
tionships. Analysis revealed the landscape of counselling men who use violence in
their intimate relationships, the counsellor characteristics that enable successful
engagement with men and the change in violence initiated by counselling.
Violence as a personal crisis aggravated by social environments
Male clients described the prompts to violence as being a perceived loss of control
over their relationships, reminders of abuse from their personal histories, and the
inability to effectively express their emotions and viewpoints. A history of infidelity
from their partner along with the manner in which women verbally responded to
them were significant in challenging the participants’ masculine ideas of being in
GJSS Vol. 12, Issue 3134control making them feel ‘disrespected and blamed by dominant women who un-
dermine’ them. The counsellors agreed that violence is a personal response that
is aggravated by society’s perception ‘that women should be submissive and that
men are the heads of the household, should be in control’.
Frustrated expressions: a lifetime characterised by violence
According to the participants’ accounts, violence occurs when men struggle to
deal with their anger that is often connected to an event in their individual past or
in the history of the current relationship that resurfaces and brings about frustra-
tion and anger, which gets channelled towards their partner.
I can say whenever maybe a situation occurs between me and that person, or
maybe that person is disrespectful, I think it kinda have flashbacks of everything
my father said to me and the way he treated me at home and all the violent
things that degraded me. That’s the kinda thing that go through my mind so I
channel all those things in the situation that I am, in the moment. I think that’s
what triggers the anger that I’ve got inside. (Ntokozo, male client)
Men further shared their experiences of being unable to fully express themselves
within an argument which can then lead to them reacting violently. Men often
spoke about the state of their mind during these incidences as being detached
from the actions of violence they are involved in at that moment. One male client
shared:
I’m angry that time, I won’t still think that time. It will just happen, afterwards I
will realise what I have actually done now … there is no thoughts you are just
doing, you are just doing it. (Douglas, male client)
The frustration of limited communication skills along with inadequate emotional
regulation evolves into the perception of being manipulated and being dominated
by a verbal forcefulness from their female partners.
I take her emotions in and as soon as I open my mouth then she shouts me
down. So that frustrates me big time … somebody does something to me I feel
135Rousseau-Jemwa, Hendricks & Rehse: Counselling as an intervention strategy
like I need to lash back. My wife is very intelligent and I find it difficult in being
able to retaliate verbally. (Max, male client)
Is it because they dominant or is it because the wife threatens them. In my case
I think sometimes woman is abusive then men intend to, uhm, what’s the word
now, defend themselves and in a violent manner. (Douglas, male client)
These are often also connected to men coming from households where they were
exposed to domestic violence and perceive violence as a normal way of communi-
cating between partners and establishing dominance in a household.
Culture, gender, society and men who use violence
Counsellors acknowledged that engaging men who use violence is impossible un-
less you are very mindful of the part gender roles and individual histories play in
relationships. Gender roles especially contribute to violence when there is limited
or non-effective communication in the relationship with misunderstandings, as-
sumptions and accusation being the result. This is exacerbated when men grew up
within homes and communities characterised by violence and perceive violence
as a normal way of communicating between partners and establishing dominance
in a household.
If you as partners are fighting or arguing over a certain issue it is like normal
for the female partner to get smacked or kicked it’s like a normal thing and the
culture allows that. As the man you are the head of the house you take deci-
sion, you take control you know, so it’s not something like unusual. (Jabu, male
counsellor)
It is a learned behaviour, they are taught: ‘you will see when you grow up my son
that a woman cannot listen or understand without the use of a fist upon her’ …
it’s like a normal thing and the culture allows that. (Debra, counsellor)
Counsellors believe that during counselling a focus should be on unlearning nega-
tive behaviour learned in childhood and replacing these with positive behaviours
and tools along with developing a personal value system.
GJSS Vol. 12, Issue 3136Attributions of responsibility: victim’s problems vs shared problems
Attribution of responsibility is a major issue and can be a driving force of the self-
justifications and self-rationalisations of the behaviour of men who use violence.
Also the male clients’ belief that IPV is normal behaviour in their culture or that
their partners elicit the violence from them. Some male participants normalised
their behaviour by introducing it as an act of self-defence.
… but I just need her to stop pushing me to the point and she knows she is
doing it, she knows the outcome and she doesn’t care about the outcome and
when it happen then all fingers get pointed at me. (Max, male client)
In this context, some of the men still appeared to not see the significance of the
violent behaviour between partners. This was most evident in one of the male cli-
ent’s narrative of abusing his wife in the viewpoint of the strong love he feels to-
wards her and how his wife knows the consequences of her behaviour towards
him:
And I love my wife very much … if I didn’t love her I wouldn’t act the way I do
but I just need her to stop pushing me to the point and she knows she is doing
it, she knows the outcome and she doesn’t care about the outcome and when it
happens then all fingers get pointed at me … (Max, male client)
The narrative throughout this study exposed violence in intimate relationship as
an interplay between personal and relational factors, making the conceptualisa-
tion of perpetrator versus victim, and the onset of abuse difficult. Both counsellors
and male clients highlighted the increasing amount of men self-reporting abuse
by their female partners and how this appears to be ignored by relevant stakehold-
ers. Counsellors believe that because IPV often arises in relationships as a result of
power, and violence being perceived as physical abuse, men are seen as physically
stronger than women, the blame is most often shifted on men. All the male partici-
pants articulated a sense of injustice associated with the lack of interventions for
them; along with them believing that they were either also abused or that the vio-
lence was a general relational problem that needed intervention with both men
137Rousseau-Jemwa, Hendricks & Rehse: Counselling as an intervention strategy
and women. It is in light of this that counsellors resolutely stated that:
It’s no use trying to help one person and leaving one party out because that
person will still continue with his or her abusive ways. Our role is to teach them
both that there are other ways of resolving problems without the use of vio-
lence. (Miriam, counsellor)
What brings men to counselling?
Several themes regarding men’s help-seeking behaviour emerged from the results
including the role of masculinity in help-seeking; numerous accounts of missed
opportunities; and the critical need for awareness of and access to services for
men.
It’s a personal decision to do counselling
A number of the participants stated that it is only through a man’s personal deci-
sion that they want or need counselling that is able to bring them to a place of
optimally accessing services. Male clients shared their stories of realising that they
needed help, combined with becoming aware of services available to men that
brought them to counselling. Counsellors reiterated the importance of IPV aware-
ness campaigns in attracting male clients.
Men start to see themselves in the pictures. I once had a pamphlet in my office
which read ‘are you an abuser, do you feel that you are violating other people’s
rights’ and this man came into my office immediately after reading that and ad-
mitted that he was an abuser and he needed help. (Zanele, counsellor)
Some participants did admit that it took a court order for them to realise that vio-
lence in their lives were getting out of hand and that they needed to seek services
available to them to work to change their current situation.
I don’t think it is easy, because men don’t realise they have a problem man. Its
yourself also, if you admit you have a problem you will come, if you don’t admit
you have a problem then you won’t come. (Leonard, male client)
GJSS Vol. 12, Issue 3138The role of social support during stressful life events
Men did not generally access services from a personal decision, as they believe
they have to keep their challenges hidden. Male clients voiced the lack of support
they receive from their peers, family and other support networks.
Men experience isolation in not being able to share about the violence used
in their relationships, their struggles to express their emotions and also the per-
ceived belief from society that it is only men who use violence in relationships: the
perception that men are the sole perpetrators in violent situations and not also
potential victims in a relationship of reciprocal abuse.
I think more men should come forward basically because a lot of men I know
where I live, in the area, uhm, that needs this support and men don’t really
speak out. Pride they have too much pride and so a lot of them just turn to alco-
hol and drugs and suicide or respond in a violent manner and a lot those men
aren’t violent men, but they tend to keep it in them. They keep in and in and
there comes a time when you explode so I think they do approach more men.
(Leonard, male client)
Counselling is risky behaviour: Help-seeking and masculinity
The social construction of masculinity is often an obstacle to men seeking help
and support. A counsellor expressed that ‘being a man in a community means you
don’t seek help, you keep quiet, you suffer inside, you don’t talk’.
I think it’s that sense of thinking if you come for counselling you are not man
enough, you are weak you can’t handle your issues so you need help. It’s like
the stigma they afraid to get it’s exactly like when you come for counselling it’s
like you are weak for which that is not the case sometimes you need to speak to
someone about any other issue. (Jabu, male counselor)
Several participants felt that emotional difficulty and violence in their relation-
ships are amplified as they perceive support services weighing their masculinity
in times of help-seeking.
139Rousseau-Jemwa, Hendricks & Rehse: Counselling as an intervention strategy
I’ve been several times to the police station where I went to report that my wife
is abusive and several stab me and then they would laugh at me and say I’m a
moffie (gay), why don’t I hit her back. Then I’d walk away and cry and don’t know
where to turn to. (Leonard, male client)
In this way participants perceived help-seeking as a risky behaviour often stigma-
tised by society and their peers. As a result, men usually only access services when
there was a greater risk than social acceptance threatening them, for example
when they are court mandated to go for counselling.
Access to counselling: Missed opportunities to engage men
Finally, participants felt that there was not sufficient awareness of the services
available to men who use violence in their intimate relationships. There needs to
be more communication available on where men can go to access help. Partici-
pants raised the perception that primarily women’s rights and community-based
support services for victims are promoted in South Africa, with the needs of men
who use violence remain unmet. Men feel that they need services where they can
access support:
You need to open up centres where men can have feelings and there would be
less abuse … If I could have dealt with this then, then I would not have abused
my wife … but nobody is looking at that, nobody is taking into consideration for
the man. (Douglas, male client)
Counselling Men: The landscape
First Responses
Male clients’ first responses were often to question why they were “summoned”
for counselling and often reacted with distrust when speaking to a female counsel-
lor whom they believed will side with the female partner. Consequently, the first
stages of counselling men needs to focus on establishing rapport and trust with
the client and assuring men that the counselling programme is for them, as a cli-
GJSS Vol. 12, Issue 3140ent, and not as a “perpetrator”.
Counsellors revealed that a principal goal of counselling is to help the male
client accept responsibility for the violence that occurred in their intimate rela-
tionships and demonstrate a willingness to change their interactions with their
partners. It is a significant step for a man to enter counselling, and most of the
counsellors shared the importance of acknowledging men for this precursor of
commitment to change their own behaviour.
Education was highlighted as a vital part of counselling, steering men towards
recognising that no form of abuse is acceptable under any conditions. It is believed
that frequently male clients are not aware that their behavior constitutes abuse as
some practices are deeply ingrained in the culture as normal intimate relationship
behaviour.
Most of the time when you get a male client he is like lost and confused ‘why am
I here because I paid lobola [dowry] for this wife and why I cannot say no, why I
cannot rule because it’s how we do things we rule, we control the women’ so if
now there’s not an understanding of domestic violence he is likely to continue
thinking that’s it’s a normal thing. (Sandra, counsellor)
Attitudes of counsellors towards men who use violence in their intimate relationships
In the light of these personal, societal and institutional barriers to help-seeking,
men indicated factors that enable access to available counselling services. Both
male clients and counsellors stated that men hold the preconception that they
need to be assisted by a male counsellor. However, after the first session, when
they have experienced the nature of the counselling session as facilitated by the
female counsellor as non-judgemental and client-centred, their perceptions are
altered and are thereafter more at ease to return to the female counsellor.
The counsellors and clients alike highlighted the attitude of the counsellor as
the most essential component in counselling men. The following were some of the
attributes highlighted: non-judgemental and non-biased, sensitive towards men’s
issues, inspire trust, ensure confidentiality, and be able to communicate respect-
fully towards all cultures.
141Rousseau-Jemwa, Hendricks & Rehse: Counselling as an intervention strategy
Benefits of counselling
Counselors believe that the benefits of counseling for men are many but highlight-
ed some of the benefits to include: awareness raising of what abusive behavior
looks like and aiding in establishing a positive masculine identity of a good partner
and father. In addition, counselling provides men with the opportunity and space
to deal with various emotional, psychological and relational challenges.
I think it helps a lot because most of the time men are not given platforms to
express themselves and to be open and share whatever problem they are going
through so it’s a good thing now that they can come, being open and not being
judge. Like you know when you are raised as a man in Xhosa they say the man
is not supposed to cry, men must be strong so it gives them a good platform to
express themselves and talk about issues. (Jabu, male counselor)
Male clients felt that their recent counseling experience was helpful as it provided
the opportunity to share what they went through in their violent experiences and
in their pasts without judgment. Also, it provided them with the opportunity to
learn new skills on how to handle future situations and how to more effectively
express themselves.
Uh, talking it out with (counsellors name) and getting a few idea on how to
handle the situation and giving me tips on things to try on whenever there is a
certain situation that occurs in that certain time, so that’s the thing that I enjoy.
(Ntokozo, male client)
Participants concluded that they would like to talk about ‘family life, everything,
marriage, relationships, everything’.
Discussion
This study formed part of a larger formative research project establishing an in-
tegrated approach to engaging men and boys as respectful partners and caring
fathers within a South African context. This paper, with the focus on interventions
GJSS Vol. 12, Issue 3142for IPV, was decided on as a vehicle to encourage discussion and debate on IPV
prevention and intervention strategies aimed at men who use violence. It further
places emphasis on the need to acknowledge and take caution not to overlook
the issues experienced by men who use violence within violent relationships such
as responsibility assumption for violence, reciprocal partner violence, and gen-
dered access to services.
Male clients endorsed retaliation, a loss of control, infidelity, history of violence
in the family and an inability to constructively express themselves emotionally as
reasons for violence. It is with this understanding that it is necessary to have in-
terventions that allow scope for the counsellor to adapt the content to where the
client is at the moment of entry into the programme. Counsellors in the study con-
firmed that a one-size-fits-all intervention does not work as the issues of IPV are
beyond gender roles but reflect on a society that uses violence, a population with
low emotional and communication skills, and challenging situational factors. As a
result, we need more flexible intervention alternatives beyond the protection or-
der and legal redress to include intensive individual therapy, couples counselling,
structured perpetrators groups, and restorative justice approaches.
Findings highlight risk factors for IPV as individual violent histories which were
exacerbated by relational conditions between men and women in the violent re-
lationships. Therefore, findings from this study, in correlation with recent research
in the field (Jewkes, et al., 2015; Fulu, et al., 2013; Ricardo, Eads, & Barker, 2012),
suggest that meaningful change in intimate violence perpetration will need inter-
ventions that target both males and females. The current study indicated men’s
need for intervention services along with their preference to seek help from formal
sources such as the police service. but also now their preference to engage with
a counsellor, more specifically male counsellors, as oppose to a family member
or friend. Male clients highlighted that some interventions and communication
around IPV, especially those in the policing and criminal justice sectors, are not
gender inclusive and discourages men from accessing services. Changing the
prevalence of violence in intimate relationships will require systematic and sus-
tained efforts at the levels of relationships, families, communities, institutions, and
legislations (Flood, 2011). This will need to include the training of health profes-
sionals and criminal justice agents to be non-judgemental and to understand the
interplay involved in IPV relationships.
143Rousseau-Jemwa, Hendricks & Rehse: Counselling as an intervention strategy
The findings suggest that gender bias should be carefully considered when
developing awareness campaigns and criminal justice policies. More advertising
and awareness campaigns are needed for the services available to men who use
or experience violence in their intimate relationships. Assistance for men who use
violence need to be made more readily available in order to shift societal norms,
encourage help-seeking behaviour and ultimately intervene in relationships early
enough.
Limitations
The limitations of the study, as with all qualitative studies, were those of self-report
along with a small sample size from which findings were drawn. Researchers of-
ten reveal that experiences individuals recount from violent incidents are different,
with individuals more often than not remembering that they were acting justly in
the conflict (Armstrong, Wernke, Medina & Schafer, 2002). However, this method
of data enquiry allows for an in-depth view of personal experiences of men who
have perpetrated violence to a partner. This study is limited to a sample from a
specific low income community in Cape Town and all participants were affiliated
with an organisation working in the participants’ community of origin. The find-
ings, though extensive, present a snapshot of the perceptions of violence in the
communities of interest and cannot be generalized to the entire community. How-
ever, the findings provide a valuable resource as baseline information for further
inquiry.
Conclusion
Exploring male counselling for behavioural change with regards to intimate partner
violence, in a low income community, with high levels of violence and crime and
low levels of help seeking behaviour, has provided insight into the understanding
and experiences of male perpetrators of violence as well as the challenges and ex-
periences of those who provide the counselling. Participants experienced violence
as a personal crisis when their lives had been characterised by violence in their
communities and in their households during childhood and felt further aggravat-
ed by the perceived loss of control in their adult relationships and current social
GJSS Vol. 12, Issue 3144environments. Men who accessed counselling in this study did not access services
voluntarily, however, the majority of men believed in the benefits of counselling.
Paradigm shifts regarding masculinity and violence are necessary to affect
change on an individual level and to further develop intervention programmes
that encompass how individuals and specific societies/cultures understand IPV,
identifying the specific individual treatment needs of participants, and learning
how to deliver programmes in a way that is engaging to men, and motivates help-
seeking. In addition, strategies need to be developed that can enhance motivation
to change, as a long initial contemplation of change phase was indicated by men.
These can include awareness raising of both IPV and the availability of interven-
tions.
References
Abrahams, Naeemah and, Rachel Jewkes. 2005. “Effects of South African men’s having
witnessed abuse of their mothers during childhood on their levels of violence in
adulthood”. American Journal of Public Health 95(10): 1811 – 1816.
Alhabib, Samia, Ula Nur, and Roger Jones. 2010. “Domestic Violence Against Women:
Systematic Review of Prevalence Studies”. Journal of Family Violence 25: 369–382.
Armstrong, Tisha G, Julia Y. Wernke, Krista L. Medina, and John Schafer. 2002. “Do Part-
ners Agree about the Occurrence of Intimate Partner Violence? A Review of the
Current Literature”. Trauma Violence Abuse 3(3): 181–193.
Braun, Virginia and Victoria Clark. 2006. “Using thematic analysis in psychology”. Qual-
itative Research in Psychology 3 (2): 77–101.
Chibber, Karuna S. and Suneeta Krishnan. 2011. “Confronting Intimate Partner Vio-
lence: A Global Health Priority”. Mount Sinai Journal of Medicine 78: 449 – 457.
Flood, Michael. 2011. “Involving Men in Efforts to End Violence Against Women.” Men
and Masculinities 14(3): 358–377.
Fulu, Emma, Rachel Jewkes, Tim Roselli, and Claudia Garcia-Moreno. 2013. “Preva-
lence and risk factors for male perpetration of intimate partner violence: findings
from the UN Multi-country Study on Men and Violence in Asia and the Pacific”. The
Lancet Global Health 1(4): 187–207.
Garcıa-Moreno, Claudia, Lori Heise, Henrica Jansen, et al. 2005. “Public health: vio-
lence against women.” Science 310: 1282–1283.
145Rousseau-Jemwa, Hendricks & Rehse: Counselling as an intervention strategy
Gupta, Jhumka, Jay G. Silverman, David Hemenway, Dolores Acevedo-Garcia, Dan J.
Stein, and David R. Williams. 2008. “Physical violence among intimate partners
and related exposures to violence among South African men”. Canadian Medical
Association Journal 179(6): 535–541.
Hamel, John. 2007. “Domestic violence: A gender-inclusive conception”. In Family in-
terventions in domestic violence: A handbook of gender-inclusive theory and treat-
ment, edited by John Hamel and Tonia Nicholls, 3–26. New York: Springer.
Hamel, John. 2009. “Toward a gender-inclusive conception of Intimate Partner Vio-
lence Theory and Research: Part 2 – New Directions”. International Journal of Men’s
Health 8(1): 41–59.
Jewkes, Rachel. 2002. “Intimate partner violence: causes and prevention”. The Lancet
359: 1423–1429.
Jewkes, Rachel, Michael Flood, and James Lang. 2015. “From work with men and boys
to changes of social norms and reduction of inequities in gender relations: A con-
ceptual shift in prevention of violence against women and girls”. The Lancet 385
(9977): 1580–1589.
Joachim, Jutta. 2000. “Shaping the human rights agenda: the case of violence against
women”. In Gender politics in global governance, edited by Mary K. Meyer and Elis-
abeth Prugl, 142–160. Lanham: Rowman and Little Field.
Katz, Jackson. 2006. The macho paradox: Why Some Men Hurt Women and How All Men
Can Help. Naperville, Illinois: Sourcebooks Inc.
Lipskya, Sherry, Raul Caetanoa, Craig A. Fielda, and Gregory L. Larkin. 2005. “Psycho-
social and substance-use risk factors for intimate partner violence”. Drug and Alco-
hol Dependence 78: 39–47.
Medeiros, Rose A. and Murray A. Straus. 2006. “Risk factors for physical violence be-
tween dating partners: Implications for gender-inclusive prevention and treat-
ment of family violence”. In Family interventions in domestic violence: A handbook
of gender-inclusive theory and treatment, edited by John Hamel & Tonia Nicholls,
59–86. New York: Springer.
Moore, Todd M. and Gregory L. Stuart. 2005. “A review of the literature on masculinity
and partner violence”. Psychology of Men and Masculinity 6(1): 46 – 61.
Moore, Todd M., Gregory L. Stuart, James K. McNulty, Michael E. Addis, James V. Cor-
dova, and Jeff R. Temple. 2010. “Domains of masculine gender role stress and in-
timate partner violence in a clinical sample of violent men”. Psychology of Violence
GJSS Vol. 12, Issue 31461: 68–75.
Morrell, Robert. 2001. “The times of change: men and masculinity in South Africa”. In
Changing men in Southern Africa, edited by Robert Morrell, 3 – 33. London: Univer-
sity of Natal Press.
Ricardo, Christine, Marci Eads, and Gary Barker. 2012. Engaging Boys and Young Men
in the Prevention of Sexual Violence: A Systematic and Global Review of Evaluated
Interventions. Pretoria: Sexual Violence Research Initiative.
Ross, Jody M. 2011. “Personality and Situational Correlates of Self-reported Reasons
for Intimate Partner Violence among Women versus Men Referred for Batterers’
Intervention.” Behavioral Sciences and the Law 29: 711–727.
Shenton, Andrew K. 2004. “Strategies for ensuring trustworthiness in qualitative re-
search projects”. Education for Information 22: 63–75.
Smith, Marilyn E. 2007. “Self-Deception Among Men Who Are Mandated to Attend a
Batterer Intervention Program”. Perspectives in Psychiatric Care 43(4): 193 – 203.
Sonke Gender Justice Network. 2012. Scorecard on GBV Laws and Policies: Engaging
men and boys in the prevention and elimination of gender-based violence (GBV) on
the African continent.
Tilley, Donna S. and Margaret Brackley. (2005) Men who batter intimate partners: A
grounded theory study of the development of male violence in intimate relation-
ships. Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 26, 281–297.
Wei, Christina C. and Margaret Brackley. 2010. “Men Who Experienced Violence or Trau-
ma as Children or Adolescents and Who Used Violence in Their Intimate Relation-
ships”. Issues in Mental Health Nursing 31: 498–506.
Weldon, Sarah and Elizabeth Gilchrist. 2012. “Implicit Theories in Intimate Partner Vio-
lence Offenders”. Journal of Family Violence 27: 761–772.